Sandy Koufax: American Legend

With Team Israel making noise at the World Baseball Classic, it seems pertinent, and perhaps even necessary, to pay homage to the greatest Jewish-American in baseball history, Sandy Koufax. We can look at his career stats and debate whether Koufax was the greatest pitcher of all time, or at least the greatest lefty to ever step on a major league mound. But there’s no debating the massive impact he has had on both Jewish-Americans and the American sports landscape.

In case you need a reminder, Koufax played a mere 12 major league seasons, an incredibly short career compared to some of the game’s other legends. But in those 12 short seasons, Koufax packed in seven all-star appearances, three Cy Young awards, three triple crowns, four no-hitters, one perfect game, and four World Series titles.

Five years after arthritis in his elbow forced him to walk away from the game, Koufax became a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer and was the youngest player ever inducted into Cooperstown at age 36. He is also just one of four pitchers in the Hall of Fame to average better than a strikeout per inning, and has the

“I knew every pitch he was going to throw and still couldn’t hit him.”

Willie Mays

To be fair, there are a lot of pitchers in the Hall of Fame who had great careers and put up great numbers. But Koufax was of a different breed. There’s a reason they called him “Special K” – one of the dopest nicknames at the time, but not as good as these:

Origin Announce Their Spring 2017 Roster

Once Origen announced their roster for the 2017 Spring Split, it became immediately apparent that the team would struggle to stay in the EU LCS. The roster included Satorius, Wisdom, NaeHyun, Tabzz and Hiiva.

sOAz and Amazing Leave Origen

xPeke was left as the last man standing from the original roster. sOAz and Amazing left the squad after becoming dismayed with the team's performance.

soaz and amazing leave

xPeke Steps In As AD Carry

The team's new bot lane duo simply did not work out. Forg1ven left the squad mid-split, with no replacement available, xPeke stepped into the ADC role. His infamous play is a harrowing memory for all Origen fans.

It all started when xPeke left Fnatic…

Origen was founded by xPeke in 2014 after he left Fnatic following the World Championship. With no prior experience running a team, nobody could have predicted just how far the team would go.

Origen Become the EU LCS’ Worst Ever Team

Without a single series win to their name, Origen's 2017 Spring Split roster will go down in history as the EU LCS's worst ever team.

Zven and Mithy Leave to Join G2 eSports

The dagger in the back of Origen. The team's bot lane duo departed the team unexpectedly ahead of the 2016 Summer Split.

Origin Heartbreak featured

Julius Erving – “Dr. J”

Nicknames don't get much cooler than "Dr. J", that's basically the pinnacle of nicknames. Everyone knows you're cool, and probably really good at basketball, both of which Julius Erving was. And for what's it's worth, his afro was as cool as his nickname. (Source: Twitter)

Fred McGriff – “Crime Dog”

I absolutely love everything about Fred McGriff's nickname of "Crime Dog", because I absolutely have no idea what it's even in reference to. Crime Dog? Like what the hell does that even mean? My response is who cares, because it's freaking awesome. (Source: Twitter)

Gordie Howe – “Mr. Hockey”

That's right, I'm showing hockey some love here. Now I'm not really a Redwings fan at all, and Gordie Howe was way before my time, but I mean come on, he has an awesome nickname. "Mr. Hockey" is the stuff of a legend, they literally made him the face of hockey because he was so unbelievable at it. (Source: Twitter)

Fnatic Schalke

NighT – Probability: High

One of the most talked about possible moves, NighT could soon find himself on another team. The reigning EU Rookie of the Split, NighT is highly sought after as a mid laner. Do not be surprised to find him on a team such as Team Liquid when the next split begins.

Adrian – Probability: Moderate

Once an All-Star for the NA LCS, Adrian now finds himself as a free agent after his departure from Team Liquid. While the talent is undeniable, many of Adrian's pocket power picks are currently out of the meta, and rumoured team issues may cause other teams to think twice before signing him.

Rekkles

Probability: Low A mid season slump found Rekkles pushed to the edge of retirement or leaving Fnatic once again. Once one to the more talked about players looking to move, with Fnatic's late season surge any type of trade or retirement seems highly unlikely.

LirA – Probability: Low

The most valuable member of EnVyUs's line-up , any rebuild will likely be built around him. If he didn't count as an import, LirA's value would be through the roof as one of the best junglers in NA. With limited teams that have import slots open and his immense value to NV, do not be surprised in LirA stays put.

Piglet – Probability: Moderate

After switching from ADC to mid, Piglet had an up and down season in his new role. For the upcoming split, Piglet may retire or be replaced by another import in the mid lane. If he stays with Team Liquid for next split, do not be surprised to see him move back to his former role of ADC.

FeniX – Probability: Low

The mid laner for Gold Coin United has been regarded as possibly the NA CS's best player this split. After GCU's failure to reach the LCS, he could be an option for teams looking to upgrade their mid, and who have an import slot available. Outside of Team Liquid and NV however, options are limited.

Ninja – Probability: High

Likely the most criticized member of Team EnVyUs, much of the blame for their struggles this split has fallen on Ninja. Currently occupying a valuable import slot, his performance has likely not warranted him staying with the team. Do not be surprised to see him replaced very soon.

In today’s game, pitchers are treated with kid gloves and shut down at the slightest sign of trouble. Koufax, meanwhile, pitched through remarkable pain late in his career and squeezed every bit of talent out of his golden arm.

By 1964, Koufax had difficulty just straightening his left arm, and at the end of the season was diagnosed with arthritis in his elbow. But it didn’t stop him from pitching two more seasons. During those two years, Koufax took pain killers (sometimes during games) and anti-inflammatories in order to remain on the mound, but you watched him pitch, you’d be none the wiser to his arm troubles.

In 1965, after a team doctor told him he risked losing full use of his arm if he continued pitching, Koufax threw a career-high 335.2 innings (not a typo, that’s over 100 innings more than any modern-day pitcher would dream of throwing in a single season). It was in September of that season that Koufax threw the only perfect game of his career, an incredible feat for a pitcher whose arm had suffered an indescribable amount of wear and tear.

Prior to the 1966 season, Koufax was told by team doctors to retire, but he decided he had one more season in him. He made 41 starts that season, pitching on three day’s rest for most of the season. As it turns out, Koufax posted a career-best 1.73 ERA that season while helping the Dodger reach the World Series in his last hurrah.

“There are two times in my life the hair on my arms stood up: The first time I saw the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the first time I saw Sand Koufax throw a fastball.”

Al Campanis

Koufax is remembered as much for a game he didn’t pitch as he is for any of the games he did pitch. In the twilight of his career, Koufax passed on pitching Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it conflicted with the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur. More than 50 years later, Koufax sitting out on Yom Kippur remains an important precedent that all Jewish-American athletes consider when faced with a similar dilemma.

“There was no hard decision for me. It was just a thing of respect. I wasn’t trying to make a statement, and I had no idea that it would impact that many people.”

Sandy Koufax

If the measure of a person’s career is the impact they make after they retire, few can measure up to Koufax. He remains a frequent guest at Dodgers games, especially during spring training, always drawing great attention from players far too young to have ever seen him pitch. Koufax, at the age of 71, was even selected during the first ever Israeli Baseball League draft in 2007, a testament to how he is revered and remembered.

To say that Koufax is a baseball legend doesn’t do a justice. He’s so much more. He’s a paradigm of greatness and perseverance; a role model for contemporary players; an ambassador for baseball; and an icon for all Jewish athletes. More than anything, Koufax is an American treasure and an American legend.

Bryan Zarpentine is a freelance writer and editor who has a ridiculous amount of sports-related articles published all over the Internet. He is a graduate of Syracuse University, a school that's better than most schools, especially Georgetown.